I asked Ghost about his age.
Lion interrupted, saying that Ghost is three to eight years older than I am physically, but that I am more than twenty years older than he is mentally.
Ghost objected, claiming that it wasn't true at all.
I raised an eyebrow and resumed asking him what he consumed.
Lion rudely interrupted again, stating that Ghost is a prey.
Ghost narrowed his eyes and insisted on telling me that he is neither a predator nor a prey, but rather that he consumes some drinks that he usually buys from Lion.
To avoid further conflict, I asked Ghost to tell me more about this world according to his view.
Lion looked annoyed as he muttered under his breath that he wanted to do it instead of him.
Ghost looked amused and told me his point of view.
....
His work usually involves travelling to various places to write down his observations, which he compiles into books submit to his 'boss'. According to him, since a lot of the world's beings are unique, he was tasked with documenting them and his boss submits these records somewhere.
It's like a census or national statistics of some sort.
But what makes this case different from Earth is that each individual is recorded only seven times:
Birth
Death
Occupation/purpose of life
Mate/s
Offspring
Type of class
Ability
Ghost explained that he's going to make himself as an example to help me understand.
Ghost's birth is recorded based on when he was found. No, they don't keep record of when they were born like humans do, since they dont usually track time. Instead, they record when a being first appears and consider that their 'birth'.
Of course, the disappearance of a being is meticulously recorded, especially when harm or risk is involved. Even a prey's death is documented, including the cause. Some beings are thought to be 'immortal', but this is not proven, as they are believed to have exceptionally long lives.
Occupation and purpose in life are also considered important, as they record how each being influences the world or the flow of time. Unlike humans, these beings stick to one occupation their entire lives. Lion is a type of wizard, possessing very high magic ability. Ghost can travel long distances and move quickly, which is why he chose this profession.
Mate/mates are recorded whenever an offspring results in a different class from its parents, are often brought to the Developmental Center as there is a belief that the parents may not properly provide the necessary growth and development, as seen in the case of Ghost, even though his parents are not mates.
Additionally, the Unknown are not individually recorded because there's no accurate data on them.
Offspring numbers are recorded because some beings produce numerous young in a short time, creating a risk to available resources. Therefore maximum limits are often imposed, interventions taking place if those limits are reached.
On the other hand, there are also beings that don't give birth to offspring naturally, sometimes requiring magical intervention. Furthermore, giving birth to offspring doesn't always require a mate, as is the case with the neutral class.
As Lion already explained classes to me, I asked Ghost about abilities.
Ghost told me that each being has a unique ability. No two beings have the same ability, except if that being has died and disappeared, then another young being will inherit that ability, no matter what class they are.
Except for the Unknown, he added after a thought.
I told Lion how humans gained abilities in my previous world. I explained the concept of schools, apprenticeships and talents.
Both of them looked interested and were amazed by the fact that you can have as many skills as you want and that anyone can learn anything.
There's no school in this world, though, if you want someone to help you improve your ability, you either go to the Developmental Center and stay there for some time or try to train under a higher being who has abilities quite similar to yours.
....
Ghost asked me what my previous world looked like, so I requested Lion to create magic to materialize my description.
He begrudgingly agreed while I grinned at him. Then, I started to describe my previous world.
Soon, the room was filled with some sort of hologram that showed where I lived before. It didn't exactly copy how my previous world looked, but it was intriguing enough to Ghost and Lion that they kept asking me all sorts of questions, such as:
Why does the Earth have only one moon..
Or why we don't fly or float...
And the strange contraptions that we always carry around.. which is cellphone by the way..
Or why do humans looked the same.. which is a bit silly as humans don't look the same..
Lion loves that the sun matches his hair color, but is confused by my warning to avoid it. He doesn't understand why our sun burns human skin, unlike the two suns in this world.
Ghost asked me about my ability with interested eyes. Even Lion stopped being annoyed with him and looked at me with fascination.
I sighed and explained to them that I'm an eye doctor.
Lion asked me what that was.
....
I gave him a detailed explanation about my job and he looked genuinely amazed.
Lion impatiently asked me what I needed so I could try it on them, while Ghost looked at me with excitement.
I sighed and tried to describe the things I usually use but Lion's attempts to replicate them with magic were to no avail. After several attempts, it was clear that replication was impossible because:
1. I have difficulty describing them
2. Lion has difficulty imagining them
3. I'm not an engineer, so I cannot properly describe how the machines work on the inside.
Lion looked disappointed.
Ghost thought for a moment while scratching his head before telling me to make it out of my imagination.
Oh.. I hadn't thought of that..